Previews

Enter the Matrix

So what is Enter the Matrix? It's a third-person action video game that draws on the best parts of the Wachowski brothers' incredibly rich and mind-bending sci-fi universe. Following, and improving on, others in the genre such as Max Payne and Dead to Rights, Enter the Matrix puts you in control of either the gorgeous and deadly pilot Niobe, or the weapons expert Ghost. Boasting 3D action on a level with the movies, the game will be partitioned into brawling fighting levels, car driving levels, and some good old-fashioned run-the-gauntlet flying levels. The demo on display at the event sported two on-foot levels, one car mission, and one flying level. The car and flying missions were still quite early, but there was enough there to get a good feel for how it might end up further down the line.

For the most part, Enter the Matrix is all about cool ass-kicking combat. Shiny has toiled long and hard to create a fast, slick 3D game engine that can wield the animal-like prowess that is required by The Matrix's fantastical universe. Both main characters have been stuffed to the gills with a stunning variety of martial art hand-to-hand combat techniques, which they're not afraid to use against the digital enemies of the Matrix. You'll remember scenes from the first movie where Neo -- after being force-fed virtual fighting knowledge -- spars alongside Morpheus in a computer-simulated dojo -- well, Niobe and Ghost are equally capable of pulling off incredible physical maneuvers and combat techniques, only this time, it's not a simulation.

Will Smith was on hand to support his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

There's a few basic moves to master including punches, kicks, and jumps. After a little bit of button mashing, it quickly became obvious that stringing nice little combos together against single enemies was easy and fun. Throw another opponent into the mix and the opportunity for some spectacular fisticuffs becomes immediately apparent. Niobe and Ghost perform different moves from a visual standpoint, but the overall impact and damage seems to be pretty much the same. Using a disarming move, you'll be able to rip machine guns and shotguns from the hands of your assailants, and quickly send them packing with a few well-aimed blasts. If you're caught without a gun, you'll easily be able to dodge and block a flurry of fast attacks.

In the part of the game that we saw, the only way to finish off a foe for good is to use a wooden stake -- hello, Buffy? -- because for some reason, this handheld stabbing implement disrupts the enemies physical presence in The Matrix. Vampire-slaying may have popularized this painful pastime, but Niobe and Ghost have a few neat staking moves of their own, too. However, we were assured that there will be other ways to dispatch different opponents.

Focus, Mr. Anderson

Carrie-Anne Moss is back as Trinity.

Max Payne had "bullet time," but Enter the Matrix has something called "focus." We've all wondered how the video game incarnations of The Matrix would deal with the insanely cool and impossible onscreen acrobatics that Neo, Trinity, and the gang pulled off without breaking into a sweat; and focus explains it all with the single press of a button. Each character has a health meter and a focus meter represented by an energy-style bar on either side of the screen. Toggling your focus power at the flick of a button effectively slows the flow of time around you. The meter will slowly tick down to zero -- at which point, you'll be snapped back into the normal flow of time and space -- but while focused, Niobe and Ghost can do some extraordinary stuff.

Picture this. You've just disarmed and dispatched an agent goon in style and stole his assault rifle. You're now engaging in a little bit of stealth exploration by hugging a wall in a corridor -- Metal Gear Solid-style. As you peek around the corner, you're greeted by two muscle-bound Johnnies that want to pull your head off. What do you do? Why, you sprint up the side of the corridor wall and run towards them, casually cartwheeling from one side of the tunnel to the other while gunning them down in style. All this and much, much more cool stuff is made possible by the focus system. It's one of the main attractions of the game, and it's set to be implemented in an extremely pleasing way.